Orochimaru

It had been over a month since his last conversation with Kabuto Yakushi, and he hadn't encountered the man at the orphanage once during that time.

He now had reason to suspect that the other party might have failed to research the Hashirama Cells and chose to flee instead.

During this period, Team 7 had carried out more missions than in the original story, and with the Chunin Exams drawing near, the impending Konoha Crush Plan signaled a season of unrest.

As Mufeng Uchiha was practicing Blood Style in the nearby mountains and forests, Kakashi Hatake suddenly appeared before him.

"Mufeng, there is a C-rank commission that specifically requested you to carry it out: escorting a client to a small ninja village. The journey is a bit long, though you are free to refuse."

Kakashi Hatake's sudden appearance before the training Mufeng Uchiha finally signaled that the opportunity Kabuto Yakushi had mentioned had arrived.

"I accept this mission. By the way, Kakashi-sensei, what have Second Pillar and the others been up to lately?"

After that mission in the Land of Waves, Sasuke Uchiha had challenged Mufeng Uchiha; that night, Sasuke Uchiha had lost miserably, without even a chance to fight back.

The other two had witnessed the entire process from the sidelines, and they seemed to have been stimulated by it, as he hadn't seen them around lately.

"Naruto is training with a powerful ninja, Sasuke is currently training with me, and Sakura has gone to learn Medical Ninjutsu so she won't hold us back anymore. Sasuke is waiting for me, so I'll leave the client to you."

Naruto Uzumaki had met Jiraiya ahead of schedule; it seemed that because of him, they were all working much harder than in the original story.

Mufeng Uchiha went to meet the client, a child with white hair and a sickly appearance—it was none other than Kimimaro.

"Follow me."

Kimimaro was disguised as a young master from a wealthy family. Once they left the gates of Konoha and confirmed no one was watching, Kimimaro spoke with relief.

"Lord Orochimaru is waiting for you in Otogakure. Keep up with my speed."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kimimaro suddenly accelerated, ignoring Mufeng Uchiha behind him; his only task was to lead the way.

No matter how much Kimimaro increased his speed, Mufeng Uchiha remained right behind him. Kimimaro possessed the Shikotsumyaku and had already activated his Cursed Seal, boosting his physical capabilities by several tiers.

An average Chunin might not have been able to keep up with him, yet Mufeng Uchiha looked completely relaxed. He was truly a survivor of the great Uchiha clan, no wonder Orochimaru had been so obsessed with him.

The two traveled quickly to a cave deep in the mountains. Judging by the decor, it didn't look like a ninja village at all, but rather a laboratory.

Just as he had expected, Orochimaru didn't fully trust him; the place he was taken to was definitely not Otogakure, as the surroundings were filled with culture dishes containing various experimental subjects.

There were ninjas from Konoha, Kirigakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure, and it seemed they had been grouped together as a control group.

All of these people had been injected with Hashirama Cells, and their bodies showed varying degrees of White Zetsu characteristics. It seemed the materials he provided had been thoroughly researched by Orochimaru.

"Mufeng-kun, we've only communicated through Kabuto Yakushi before, but we finally meet in person."

Deep in the dark, damp cave, Orochimaru flicked his long tongue to lick the corner of his mouth. His vertical pupils stared at Mufeng Uchiha, flashing with a glint of greed that was practically overflowing.

"Don't look at me with those eyes. Whatever Itachi Uchiha can do, I can do as well."

Mufeng Uchiha looked up, his scarlet eyes meeting Orochimaru's vertical pupils. For a moment, Orochimaru felt that the kid before him was even more terrifying than Itachi Uchiha.

The next moment, Orochimaru was struck by the Sharingan's genjutsu, and his already fragile soul couldn't withstand it, forcing him to shed his skin on the spot.

"What a fine greeting gift, Mufeng-kun. You are a rare partner, and I will not move against you. After all, we still have many things to cooperate on."

From the moment Mufeng Uchiha exposed Kabuto Yakushi's identity and traded the White Zetsu material with him, the White Zetsu—a creation of Hashirama Cells—had proven to be the perfect experimental subject.

The White Zetsu material had allowed him to make a huge breakthrough with the Hashirama Cells, and he was now confident in creating harmless Hashirama Cells. But the ideal was plump, while reality was cruel.

The culture dishes in the cave all contained subjects with White Zetsu characteristics, but they were all failures, having turned into walking corpses without even a sense of self.

He eventually concluded that the physical energy of the Hashirama Cells was too strong, while their mental energy was too weak, causing them to be consumed by the cells instead.

"Mufeng-kun, the White Zetsu creature you gave me was a great help, but as you can see, the state of those culture dishes is poor. I have completed the injectable Hashirama Cells, but it requires powerful mental strength to withstand them."

Orochimaru curled his tongue and puffed his cheeks for a moment before opening his mouth again. A thin, long tongue extended toward Mufeng Uchiha, the tip coated in saliva-drenched Hashirama serum.

"Next time, please hand me the serum with your hand. I will accept this one for now."

He now had two doses of Hashirama Cells in his possession; this would serve as insurance for him and Sasuke Uchiha. In fact, he had been suppressing himself all along, needing only a catalyst to break through and evolve his Mangekyo.

"It's a pity. I originally wanted to collect data on Mufeng-kun injecting the Hashirama Cells. Mufeng-kun, are you interested in seeing my experiments? I am very interested in your blood."

Had the news of his Blood Style been exposed?

"I can, but I need to watch the whole process. Has there been any progress on the blood research I asked you to do?"

"Mufeng-kun, you always give me surprises. The Chakra in that blood is something that even I have to expend quite a bit of mental energy to analyze."

It was a shame; he had originally wanted to use Orochimaru's abilities to extract the Asura and Indra Chakra from Naruto and Sasuke, which would be his only chance to evolve the Rinnegan.

Orochimaru led Mufeng Uchiha deep into the cave. It was relatively tidy inside, and all kinds of experimental equipment were fully stocked, though it still felt too rudimentary.

"Mufeng-kun, you just need to drip your blood into this."

Mufeng Uchiha didn't hesitate to slice his palm open, letting his blood drip into the prepared experimental dish. Once his blood touched the liquid, it spread rapidly like a fish entering the sea, consuming the surrounding fluid.

Orochimaru became incredibly excited and began to tinker with the vial of blood. Mufeng Uchiha watched quietly until Orochimaru burst into laughter, his eyes gleaming with greed as he looked at Mufeng Uchiha.

"Astonishing. Your body, Mufeng Uchiha, hides unimaginable power. Mufeng-kun, are you interested in becoming a powerful ninja with multiple bloodline limits?"